KAISER EUR-MARK

In July 2011, KAISER acquired the Finnish company EUR-MARK in Nykarleby with the objective of expanding its strategic position on the international market. The business relationship between the two enterprises had existed since EUR-MARK was founded in 1992. From the start, EUR-MARK had always relied on the KAISER jetting pump as a key component for its vehicles. The family-owned company sold a majority shareholding to the financial investor Oy Wedeco Ab in 2008 with the aim of finding an industrial owner again in the medium term. This turned out to be KAISER who acquired 100 per cent of EUR-MARK’s shares in 2011.

The EUR-MARK product portfolio mainly consists of combination vehicles for sewer cleaning which can be optionally equipped for water recycling. Virtually all its vehicles are equipped with special winter protection packages, enabling deployment in temperatures as low as -30 °C. Another cornerstone of the product range is the Herkules dry suction unit with rotary piston compressor technology.

Nykarleby, where EUR-MARK is based, lies on the west coast of Finland, to the north of the city of Vaasa in the country’s Swedish-speaking region. Geography and language have been major enablers for EUR-MARK, facilitating successful access to the Swedish and Norwegian markets in addition to the home market in Finland. In the case of sewer cleaning vehicles, regional alignment is an important factor in determining the strength of the company’s market position. EUR-MARK has been extremely successful in building up a leading position in Scandinavia.

Kurt Vienonen joined EUR-MARK in 1994 and went on to become managing director in 2007. He talks about the acquisition and collaboration with KAISER:

“When I became involved in discussions on the takeover by KAISER at the end of 2010, I was positively surprised. I had worked with KAISER since the early 1980s and knew the company and some of their people pretty well. I’ve always looked upon KAISER as a role model in the industry and saw this as an opportunity to strengthen EUR-MARK’s position with an industrial owner. Over the past years, we’ve been able to achieve great progress with KAISER. Our new owner has contributed his experience and helped us to become more professional, in short to equip EUR-MARK for the future.

Personally, I also value our new owner’s philosophy, which is to successfully position the company for the long term, rather than maximising profits in the short term. The aim is for EUR-MARK to continue to maintain, if not expand, its strong position in the future. apart from the language, the cultural differences between Liechtenstein and Finland are negligible. In both countries we’re prepared to put in hard, honest work to achieve results. And you get a sense that our working relationship is enriched by the experience of both companies and the fact that we jointly develop future-proof solutions.”

Kurt Vienonen

THE KAISER GROUP: STRONG TOGETHER

Family-run business with social responsibility

The foundations for KAISER AG were laid back in 1913. CEO Markus Kaiser is the third generation to run the business. The clear ownership structure across the entire group guarantees sustainable strategic development. Reliability in our relationships with customers and a strong sense of social responsibility are important entrepreneurial principles.

Technology as Core Competence

The availability of key competencies within the company is a fundamental part of corporate strategy. KAISER’s products excel with their high technological autonomy. Consequently, the technology and development department plays a key role within the company. The large number of development and design engineers enables in-depth coverage of various areas of technological competence.

Professional customer contacts

KAISER attaches great importance to professional consulting and customer care. Our customers can rely on experienced and technically accomplished employees. Professionalism in direct customer contact takes top priority.

Customer-oriented

Selling a product marks a beginning and not an end: we accompany and support our customers so they can fully exploit the potential of our vehicles. We aspire to enthral them with our KAISER products and services.

Company History

The history of Kaiser AG is built on a capacity to innovate and inventive genius. It is a history of innovations and inventions which for a century have continually enabled technical improvements or led to entirely new products.

past

1913

Josef Kaiser Senior files his first patent, which relates to a weaving loom. A wool spinning factory is set up some time later.

1925

Liechtenstein's customs union with Switzerland leads to the loss of textile customers in Vorarlberg. The opening of an auto and machine repair shop marks the beginning of the motor vehicle period.

1928-1955

Around one hundred auto tractors are built. During World War II, tractors are equipped with wood gasifiers.

1950

Josef Kaiser Junior takes over management of the company. He initiates the transition from a small workshop operation to an industrial enterprise.

1957

Development of the company’s own suction-pressure tanker. The “Kaiserfass” acquires a legendary reputation.

1963

Presentation of the first sewer cleaning vehicle – a sludge vacuum vehicle.

1965

Josef Kaiser Junior develops the walking excavator.

1974

Development of the KDU jetting pump, which is fitted to a sewer cleaning vehicle for the first time.

1979 - 1984

KAISER teaches the walking excavator how to drive. A walking excavator with four wheels is built, known as the mobile walking excavator. A crawler excavator is presented in 1980 and a tracked dumper known as the "Kettenbär" in 1984.

1985

The first sewer cleaning vehicle is equipped with a water recycling system.

1996

Presentation of the high-capacity AquaStar and the first mobile walking excavator with all-wheel drive. Both models become industry benchmarks.

2001

Foundation of KAISER Fahrzeugtechnik in Nenzing/Austria.

2005

Markus Kaiser takes over operational management of KAISER AG in the role of CEO. In 2013, Markus Kaiser is voted Liechtenstein's "Entrepreneur of the Year".

2008

Setting up of the production plant in Krakovany/Slovakia.

2011 - 2014

Acquisition of EUR-MARK based in Nykarleby/Finland. Another acquisition follows in 2014: MORO based in Fiume Veneto/Italy. The KAISER Group now becomes the world's leading manufacturer in this industry.

2013

KAISER celebrates its anniversary "100 Years of Innovation - 100 Years of Kaiser" with various events.

2016

A new road-rail excavator is presented: the S22RR. New developments in the area of environmental technology include vehicles for water treatment using vacuum distillation or flocculation.

2017

Acquisition of the US company Premier Oilfield Equipment, a manufacturer of hydro-excavators. KAISER retained the entire workforce, which was absorbed into the new subsidiary KAISER PREMIER in Fort Morgan, Colorado.

present

100 Years of Innovation. 100 Years of Kaiser.

A book about our history

When marking our milestone birthday in 2013, our first aim was to take advantage of this opportunity for a more in-depth look at our past and also to document it. This was the context which gave rise to the idea of the book. As a result of our collaboration with the author and historian Veronika Marxer as part of our team in Schaanwald over an 18-month period, a work has been created which vividly tells the story of how the company developed from a small workshop operation to become an international industrial enterprise.